Announcing Nilo Cruz’s “Bathing in Moonlight” Cast

Sarasota, FL and Princeton, NJ — The Hermitage Artist Retreat announced recently that their 2014 Greenfield Prize Commissioned play Bathing in Moonlight by Pulitzer prize winning playwright, Nilo Cruz, will have it’s world premiere in Princeton, NJ this fall at McCarter Theatre Center’s Roger S.Berlind Theatre. Directing will be Emily Mann who reunites with Cruz for the first time since their Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics collaboration.

“We are so pleased that Bathing In Moonlight has found the first class production it will get at the McCarter Theatre,” commented Bruce E. Rodgers, Hermitage executive director, whose organization administers the Greenfield Prize. “The cast of actors and their credits is an impressive one, which reinforces the strength of the work. I can’t think of a better place for the play to begin its journey out into the world.”

The cast of Bathing in Moonlight is comprised of an internationally impressive pool of talent, including Frankie J. Alvarez (HBO’s Looking) as Taviano; Hannia Guillen (NBC’s Passions) as Marcela; and Tony Award winner Priscilla Lopez (Broadway’s A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, A Chorus Line, In the Heights, Anna in the Tropics) as Martina.

Mexican actor Raúl Méndez makes his American stage debut as Father Monroe. Famous for his chameleon-like performances in numerous Mexican film/TV/stage roles, Méndez is fast becoming a known talent in the English-speaking world with breakout performances in Texas Rising (History Channel) as well as two Netflix Original Series, Narcos and Sense8. Completing the cast are Michael Rudko (The Audience w/ Helen Mirren on Broadway) as Bishop Andres, and Katty Samara Velasquez in her McCarter debut as Trini.

The creative/design team for Bathing in Moonlight includes scenic and lighting designer Edward Pierce, whose Broadway credits include Wicked, Billy Elliot, 9 to 5, and A Streetcar Named Desire (Dir: Emily Mann), returns to McCarter after designing for last season’s American premiere of Tennessee Williams’ Baby Doll. Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Darron L. West (Peter and the Starcatcher) returns to McCarter for his twelfth production, and veteran Broadway Costume Designer Jennifer von Mayrhauser returns for her 25th production at McCarter. Casting is by Laura Stanczyk Casting, CSA.Bathing in Moonlight is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Bathing in Moonlight is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.